Permian corals of Bolivia are confined to the Lower Permian (Wolfcampian, Leonardian) Copacabana Limestone. The coral fauna of the formation in the Lake Titicaca to the central altiplano areas of the Department of La Paz consists of two solitary rugose coral species, two colonial rugose coral species (one each of fasciculate and cerioid), and two tabulate coral species. New taxa are Stylastraea branisai n. sp., Durhamina pandolfi n. sp., Michelinia escobari n. sp., and Cladochonus carrascoi n. sp. Lophophyllidium striatum (d'Orbigny, 1839), based on Bolivian specimens, is redescribed, a lectotype designated, and the range extended to North America. Although the fauna is small, its taxonomic composition shows clear affinity with faunas of similar age northward through South and Central America to Mexico and the USA Texas-Oklahoma-Midcontinent region. The Bolivian fauna thus is confirmed as belonging to the Cyathaxonid Coral Province, which is restricted to the above areas. A species of Durhamina previously erected for Guatemalan specimens occurs in the Copacabana Limestone of Peru and strengthens the province assignment of the formation.

The Middle Devonian brachiopod genus Cyrtinoides, described from the southern Urals, is a senior subjective synonym of Mucroclipeus, previously known only from eastern and western North America. The Middle and Late Devonian cyrtinid brachiopod genus Komiella, previously known only from the Timan Range of eastern Europe, is identified from west-central Alaska and Nevada. A new family Komiellidae is proposed. New species are Komiella gilberti, K. magnasulca, and K. stenoparva. Known species of both genera occupy carbonate platform foreslope facies or shelf basins, allowing open marine migration via peripheral biofacies.

The first skiff beetle fossil and earliest myxophagan, Hydroscapha jeholensis n. sp., is described and illustrated on the basis of a single specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation at Huangbanjigou of Beipiao City, Liaoning Province, Northeastern China. Based on the combination of diagnostic characters of this specimen (e.g., minute and fusiform body, short elytra, tapered abdomen, separated meso- and metacoxae, and 3-segmented tarsi), we suggest that it is a definitive representative of Hydroscaphidae belonging to the widespread hydroscaphid genus Hydroscapha LeConte, 1874. It also represents the only impression fossil of the beetle suborder Myxophaga. This find displays great significance for shedding light on the preservation of the minute aquatic beetles, since it is the first well-preserved impression fossil reported for the suborder, rather than amber inclusion.

The order Litopterna is represented in the São José de Itaboraí basin by four species belonging to the families Protolipternidae (Protolipterna ellipsodontoides, Miguelsoria parayirunhor and Asmithwoodwardia scotti) and Proterotheriidae (Paranisolambda prodromus). Only the deciduous teeth of P. prodromus are known so far. Isolated milk premolars are described for P. ellipsodontoides and M. parayirunhor. The known specimens assigned to P. prodromus are redescribed. No milk teeth are known for A. scotti. The upper and lower milk teeth of Protolipternidae, especially dP3, are more molarized than their successors, resembling, in several features later Proterotheriidae. They provide new support for the placement of this family within the order Litopterna. The analysis of the wear level of dp2-4/dP2-4 and X-ray images of the lower jaw of P. prodromus suggests that the second teeth of the premolar series, in upper and lower jaw, are retained milk premolars. Some information on tooth replacement pattern of P. ellipsodontoides and P. prodromus are also provided.

A non-biomineralized arthropod, Protocaris marshi, was described from the lower Cambrian (Dyeran Series 2, Stage 4) of Parker's Cobble in northwestern Vermont in 1884. It represents the first fossil exhibiting Burgess Shale-type preservation to have been discovered. The locality was presumed to have been worked out and was not collected in a significant way for more than 100 years. Rediscovery of productive layers has yielded soft-bodied and lightly sclerotized taxa new to the locality, including the alga Fuxianospora, a possible priapulid, a radiodont, and a specimen tentatively assigned to Herpetogaster. New specimens of the sponge Leptomitus zitteli, the bivalved arthropod Tuzoia, and the chordate Emmonsaspis cambrensis provide additional information on those taxa, and multiple specimens allow a bivalved arthropod, Vermontcaris montcalmi new genus, new species, to be described. The primary mode of fossil preservation is as carbonaceous compressions. The Parker Quarry Lagerstätte complements the Kinzers Formation of Pennsylvania (also Series 2, Stage 4) in revealing the diversity of soft-bodied taxa on the southern margin of the paleocontinent Laurentia.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/2eb3ae7c-6579-403e-a9ab-654c05af4a1b

Isolated, uncompressed specimens of Monograptus spiralis show that the thecae become increasingly asymmetric and twisted distally and that the lateral margins of the apertures possess lobate veins and extend laterally as spatulate rostral processes. These too become increasingly asymmetric distally.

Three species of Cyrtograptus, obtained uncompressed from the same and overlying strata, are compared with M. spiralis. They show little similarity in the details of proximal or distal thecal form. Cyrtograptus sakmaricus possesses more stout, overlapping proximal thecae, while those of C. cf. C. laqueus are slender and elongate. In both species, the thecae are moderately asymmetrical, become simpler and less strongly hooked distally, and have simple lateral margins. The third species, Cyrtograptus sp., possesses proximal thecae very like those of C. sakmaricus, but its distal thecae, while strongly twisted, are very much simpler than the type found in M. spiralis.

Despite superficial rhabdosomal similarities in flattened material, the thecal details clearly indicate that M. spiralis is very unlikely to be ancestral to any known species of Cyrtograptus owing to its unique and highly specialized thecal form. Comparison among species of Cyrtograptus suggests, however, that this genus might be polyphyletic, with its ancestors being other members of the “Spirograptus” group.

A new eutherian mammal of uncertain taxonomic position is described on the basis of well-preserved dental and gnathic specimens collected from localities in the Paleocene Paskapoo Formation of Alberta, Canada. Horolodectes sunae new genus and species is represented by seven incomplete maxillae, eleven incomplete dentaries, and numerous isolated teeth, together preserving nearly all of the postcanine dentition. The unusual dentition of Horolodectes n. gen. consists of trenchant, posteriorly leaning premolars in combination with comparatively primitive molars, suggestive of a masticatory cycle that consisted primarily of shearing and, to a lesser degree, horizontal grinding. Included among the specimens of Horolodectes is an incomplete dentary of an immature individual, with the teeth having been in various stages of eruption at the time of death. Although the dentition of Horolodectes broadly resembles that of apheliscine hyopsodontids, pentacodontine pantolestids, and “ungulatomorphs” among eutherian mammals, significant differences in the coronal structure of the teeth prevent unequivocal referral of Horolodectes to any of these groups, or to any known eutherian order.

The Providence Limestone member of the Dugger Formation in Indiana and its lithologic correlatives in the southern part of the Illinois Basin are thin lime mudstones to packstones lying stratigraphically between the Herrin and Hymera Coal Members of the Dugger Formation and their equivalents. The purposes of the study are to describe and correlate the Providence conodont fauna and to apply biofacies analysis and petrographic study to interpreting the paleoenvironments.

Providence conodonts are dominated by representatives of the Idiognathodus-Streptognathodus plexus. Hindeodus is abundant; Neognathodus is common; and Idioprioniodus, Adetognathus, and Diplognathodus are common only in some sections. Aethotaxis is a minor constituent.

Conodont biofacies reflect a shallow, nearshore, low- to moderate-energy marine environment. The Idiognathodus-Streptognathodus plexus indicates quiet to moderately elevated energy levels. Hindeodus replaces part of the Idiognathodus-Streptognathodus plexus in higher energy conditions. Diplognathodus has an affinity for low to slightly elevated energy conditions. Migration during ontogeny to quite, organic-rich water from a more open, slightly higher energy environment is indicated for Streptognathodus oppletus.

Assignment to the Neognathodus dilatus-N. roundyi zone indicates a middle Desmoinesian age. The new species Diplognathodus indianaensis is morphologically intermediate between the early Desmoinesian D. coloradoensis and the late Desmoinesian D. illinoisensis and allows refinement of a Diplognathodus-based zonation.

New aulacopleuroidean trilobites from the Lochkovian of Oklahoma include the otarionine Cyphaspis carrolli new species from the Haragan Formation, and the brachymetopid Cordania wessmani new species from the overlying Bois d'Arc Formation. Cyphaspis carrolli is the first record of the genus from the North American Devonian. It is a highly plesiomorphic species, dissimilar to contemporaries from Europe, but closely related to Silurian species from Northern Laurentia and England. Cordania wessmani had previously been interpreted as a possible sexual dimorph of Cordania falcata Whittington, 1960, but new material and information shows that the forms occur separately with no stratigraphic overlap. New information on trilobite occurrence in the Haragan and Bois d'Arc Formations does not support previous hypotheses of trilobite sexual dimorphism, but rather indicates the presence of distinct, stratigraphically successive faunas.

A locality in the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana preserves abundant and variable horseshoe crab tracks and trails of the ichnotaxon Kouphichnium isp. These specimens span six morphologies differing in track form and trail configuration. These differences likely reflect variations in track-maker locomotion and behavior, substrate consistency, epichnial versus hypichnial preservation, and undertrack versus true tracks. Several tracks preserve the first clear appendage impressions for an extinct horseshoe crab. This discovery adds new information to the fossil horseshoe crab diversity in the Cretaceous Period. Trackway dimensions, such as the external width across the pusher legs or of the prosomal drag mark, provide information on the track-maker size. Most trackways correspond with crabs 9–14 cm wide; the abundance but limited size range of the traces suggests the large assemblage corresponds to a mating aggregation. The trace fossil record of xiphosurids indicates that throughout their history, horseshoe crabs inhabited both marine and nonmarine settings. They were definitively present in freshwater habitats from the lower Carboniferous through at least the Paleogene. Horseshoe crab trace abundance is highest from the upper Carboniferous through the Jurassic and likely reflects two factors: true upper Carboniferous taxonomic diversity and a preponderance of suitable sites for trackway preservation in the Late Triassic and Jurassic. Cretaceous traces are uncommon, and this Two Medicine locality is the first occurrence of horseshoe crab traces in the Late Cretaceous worldwide. Overall, track abundance and diversity would seem to correspond well with the reported horseshoe crab body fossil record.

An early Devonian graptolite fauna is described from Lila and Huiku sections in Southwest Yunnan, China. Three graptolite biozones are recognized, which in ascending order are: Monograptus uniformis Biozone, M. hercynicus Biozone and M. falcarius Biozone. Six species are described in this paper: Monograptus uniformis Příbyl, M. aequabilis (Příbyl), M. microdon Richter, M. hercynicus Perner, M. falcarius Koren, and Abiesgraptus sp.

A new multicostate rhynchonellid brachiopod Jakubirhynchia occurs in the Hettangian (Early Jurassic) carbonate deposits of the West Carpathians. A comparison with externally similar multicostate rhynchonellids from the Hettangian–Sinemurian carbonate deposits of the Alps shows their congeneric and conspecific status, indicating relatively wide regional distribution in the Early Jurassic of the western Tethys.

Diagnostic characters include conjunct deltidial plates, divided, vertically inclined inner hinge plates forming sessile septalium, and subfalciform crura with relatively complex, serrate terminations and broad outline in lateral view. Although the shape of hinge plates and crura may vary according to shell convexity and shell orientation during serial sectioning, two-dimensional restorations of cardinalia and crura show their distinctive morphology. It is important to note that some of the cardinalia details and crural shape can be detected only with very short between-section distances. Based on external characters, Jakubirhynchia is a homeomorph to another multicostate rhynchonellid, Calcirhynchia, typical of the Hettangian and Early Sinemurian of the northwestern Europe province and reported also from the Tethyan province. This suggests that original distribution of Calcirhynchia might not be so wide and postextinction multicostate rhynchonellids were taxonomically more diverse as was previously supposed. Jakubirhynchia consistently occupies offshore, low-energy, micritic-rich habitats below storm wave base. It is the first reported Hettangian member of the family Basiliolidae and may bridge the gap between the Carnian Veghirhynchia and Early Jurassic basiliolids. Preextinction, Norian and Rhaetian brachiopods that are close morphologic relatives of Jakubirhynchia are known from outside the western Tethyan area only.

Gemmellaroia is a conical Permian brachiopod that traditionally has been assigned to the superfamily Richthofeniacea [sic] on the basis of its conical shape and a myocoelidium in the ventral valve. It has been considered unique among brachiopods in opening the shell by having the dorsal valve move straight up, rather than rotating around a hinge axis. Evidence is adduced to warrant transfer of the genus and its cohorts to the superfamily Derbyoidea (totally unrelated to the richthofenioids) and to demonstrate that it was capable of opening in the normal manner, rotating the dorsal valve about a hinge axis. Members of the family include Gemmellaroia (Cossmann, 1898), Loczyella Frech, 1901, Tectaria (Likharev, 1928), and Cyndalia (new genus with type species C. rudistiformis new species).

Asymmetric sculpture in the form of tubercles or ridges on the shells of large (mean shell length ~60 mm) turritelliform gastropods has previously been shown to enhance efficiency of the shell as a penetration anchor in burrowing through coarse sediment. The small (<8 mm) turritelliform shells of all species of Argyropeza (Family Cerithiidae) have both of these ratchetlike sculptural features. Four lines of evidence from Lower Pleistocene A. divina and A. schepmaniana from Fiji support the interpretation that they help resist back-slippage: cross-orientation, frictional asymmetry, allometric shallowing, and allometric densing of sculptural elements. In addition, excellent state of preservation including protoconch sculpture, near coplanarity of aperture and ventral side of shell, and susceptibility to drilling predation by naticids support the conclusion that these gastropods burrowed in the sediment that formed the siltstone in which they are now preserved. A direct relationship is proposed between height of ratchet sculpture on turritelliform gastropod shells of approximate length range 5–100 mm and the grain size of sediments they inhabit ranging from silts to coarse sands.

Neusticemys neuquina (Fernández and de la Fuente, 1988) is a turtle from the Upper Jurassic of the Neuquén Basin, Patagonia, Argentina. Here we describe in detail a new skull, lower jaw, and a vertebra, utilizing both traditional anatomical description and computed tomography (CT). New diagnostic cranial characters of Neusticemys neuquina are: a round depression on the ventral surface of the basisphenoid, a relatively larger oval foramen nervi trigemini, and reduced and steepened triturating surfaces on both the maxilla and dentary. The new morphological information presented in this study was included in a phylogenetic analysis, the primary result of which was recovery of Neusticemys neuquina within Thalassochelydia. Characters recognized as synapomorphies of this clade include: (1) anterolateral recess of the anterior surface of the quadrate positioned lateral to the processus trochlearis oticum, (2) presence of a fossa on the supraoccipital-opisthotic-exoccipital contact area, (3) foramina anterius caroticus cerebralis located close together but independently perforating the basisphenoid, and (4) the presence of the splenial in the mandible. Two contrasting dispersal scenarios could explain how this species of Thalassochelydia can be found outside of Europe. The presence of Neusticemys neuquina in the Neuquén Basin could be the consequence of an early dispersion event, for which we lack intermediate forms, or it could be the result of a later event once the clade was already established in Europe.

The geographic population patterns of Lingula anatina across the Indo-West Pacific region are analyzed based on mitochondrial COI and nuclear EF-1α gene sequences. Compared with the remarkable morphological stasis, genetic evidence of extant Lingula species displays deep genetic divergence. Three distinct COI lineages were detected for L. anatina, one of which is from Qinhuangdao (Hebei, China, Bohai Sea), the other two from Beihai (Guangxi, China, Gulf of Tonkin). Individuals from South Japan have a very close relationship with one of the two COI lineages found in Beihai, which is also supported by EF-1α results, suggesting a relatively recent migration between South China Sea and East China Sea. Genetic distances between the three lineages of L. anatina are rather high (8.9%, 8.6%, and 2.7%), and those between L. anatina and L. adamsi is much higher (44.5%), compared to other marine invertebrates. Both tectonic evolution and the repeated Quaternary glaciations have contributed to the complex phylogeographic pattern found in these recent Lingula anatina populations.

The conodont genus Teridontus was introduced in 1980 by Miller and was based on the Late Cambrian species Oneotodus nakamurai Nogami, 1967 from the Yencho Member of the Fengshan Fm. of northeast China. Teridontus was later reported from either the Upper Cambrian or Lower Ordovician (Landing et al., 1980; Miller, 1980; Landing and Barnes, 1981; Landing, 1983; An et al., 1983, 1985; Ni et al., 1983; Peng et al., 1983; Nowlan, 1985; Landing et al., 1986; Bagnoli et al., 1987; An, 1987; Buggisch and Repetski, 1987; Pohler and Orchard, 1990; An and Zheng, 1990; Seo and Ethington, 1993; Wang, 1993; Lehnen, 1994; Nicoll, 1994; Seo et al., 1994; Ji and Barnes, 1994; Taylor et al., 1996; Lehnert et al., 1997; Jia, 2000; Dubinina, 2000; Pyle and Barnes, 2002; Zeballo et al., 2005) sediments in numerous localities around the world, but a unanimous interpretation of the composition of the Teridontus apparatus organization was far from accepted.

The phosphatocopids Hesslandona necopina Müller, 1964 and Hesslandona longispinosa (Kozur, 1974) new combination, recovered from the Upper Cambrian in western Hunan, South China, are described. The ontogenetic stages of H. necopina are revised, with newly defined second and third ontogenetic stages. The second stage is characterized by a bipartite mandibular limb stem consisting of separate coxa and basipod. The third stage is characterized by the partial fusion of the mandibular coxa and basipod. These two parts may become completely fused possibly in a later ontogenetic stage. Vestrogothia longispinosa Kozur, 1974 is reassigned to Hesslandona because of the presence of an interdorsum and a relatively narrow doublure. The new data reported here, plus earlier reports of phosphatocopids from the same section and horizon in western Hunan since 2005, are included in an updated phylogenetic analysis of the Phosphatocopida. Autapomorphies that define several monophyletic groups (e.g., the Crustacea sensu lato, Labrophora, Eucrustacea, Phosphatocopida, Euphosphatocopida, Vestrogothiina, Hesslandonina, and Dorsospinata) are discussed. The present analysis confirms results from earlier phylogenetic analyses in showing the Phosphatocopida-Eucrustacea sister-taxon relationship, but differs from them in supporting the paraphyly of the Hesslandonidae and the monophyly of the Vestrogothiidae.

Castor, the extant beaver, is an important member of North American and Eurasian communities, altering ecosystems and landscapes wherever it occurs. Castor has a fossil record extending back to the late Miocene in Europe, Asia, and North America. The origin and early evolution of this genus is unclear but it likely originated in Eurasia and subsequently dispersed to North America from Asia in the late Miocene. A new record of Castor from the Rattlesnake Formation of Oregon represents the earliest occurrence of the genus in North America. The age of this new find is inferred through radiometric and magnetostratigraphic dating to be between 7.05 and 7.3 Ma. This age is supported by the co-occurrence of another beaver, Dipoides stirtoni, which is characteristic of early Hemphillian deposits. This find indicates that Castor had dispersed to North America by the early Hemphillian, and helps resolve the timing of divergence between North American and Eurasian beavers. The Rattlesnake Formation specimens are not differentiable from other North American specimens of C. californicus in morphology or size. This suggests Castor changed little after dispersing to North America, whereas the endemic castoroidine beavers changed dramatically after its arrival.

Micropaleontologists can benefit from measurements of microfossil morphology in studies of taxonomy, stratigraphy, and evolution. Morphometric data can be used to clarify evolutionary relationships, increase biostratigraphic resolution within lineages, and identify ecophenotypes. Morphometric data also provides a means for objectively reporting and summarizing large numbers of microscopic observations.